Not Good Enough
by GothicFlavor
Summary: The new girl at school has a big effect on John's (Pyro's) life. (Rating may be bumped up for later chapters.)
1. The New Girl

A/N: This story takes place just before X2, so it will have some spoilers in it about the movie if you haven't seen it already. Don't read if you don't want to know what happens in the movie.

Late last night at a party in a small town in California, havoc erupted." John looked up at the TV screen to see a blazing house. "A young mutant teenage girl seemed to have blown up the house after a threatening incident." The picture of a beautiful, smiling girl appeared on the screen. "She is about 5'4", brown hair and eyes. If you see her, please dial this number. The police are looking for her." John sat back in his chair, thinking about what he had seen. 

"More mutant 'attacks' eh?" Logan leaned against the door way, quoting with his fingers the word attacks.

The teenage boy nodded his head. "They say that she blew up a party."

Logan shrugged. "Xavier found her on Cerebro. Storm and Jean are getting her, bringing her back here."

Logan walked out of the room, muttering something to himself. Once again John was left alone. Bobby and Rogue were probably off trying to figure out new ways of making out without getting hurt. Flipping the lighter open, he stared into the flames and took them in his hand. Why couldn't he create fire? Why could he only manipulate it? Only being able to move the flames wasn't as satisfying as it used to be.

**

The noise roared as she shot up straight, staring at the monstrosity before her. The black metal shimmered in the sun as it landing only a hundred yards away from her. Quickly, she was on her feet, racing away as fast as she could. Looking up, the sky became dark with clouds and rain soon started to fall. She slipped on the newly formed mud with a grunt, and suddenly her body seemed to be paralyzed, and she seemed to be headed backwards in the air. Her eyes scanned wildly around her surroundings, hoping to find something that would explain this. As rapidly as it had happened, she stopped and was turned around. The dark clouds faded away and once again the sun shone threw. She was dropped to the ground with a thud.

"What is going on?!" She yelled at the people before her.

"I'm Jean Grey, and this is Storm. We heard about your incident at the party."

She clambered to her feet. "Did you hear that I nearly got raped on the news?! Huh? He had me pinned! What the fuck was I suppose to do?!"

Storm held up her hand. "We aren't here to harm you. We just want you to come with us." 

The girl shook her head, denying the offer. Storm glared at her. "What is your name."

"Which one?" She asked back.

"Both."

The girl stared back. "Leslie, Leslie Rodman. Or, Aura."

Jean nodded her head. "What can you do."

Leslie looked down at the ground. "It's complicated. But, I have complete control over it, don't think that I have accidents. Blowing up that party wasn't an accident. Anyways. When I look someone in the eyes, I can see what kind of person they are, like if you're evil, or good, or caring, or shy, whatever. Then, I can suck out their aura and turn it into a ball of energy in my hand. If I want to, then I can shoot it at something. When I do that, it takes away a lot of there energy and the person becomes temporarily weak. Like I said, it's kind of hard to understand."

"Interesting." Storm said. "Now, come with us." 

This time, she followed them onto the jet.

**

The teacher cleared his throat, beckoning for the class's attention. Bobby and Rogue sat next to each other in the back, flirting endlessly. John rolled his eyes as he watched them in disgust. There were two people at every table. John sat alone, flicking his shark lighter on and off. Everyone glanced up.

"We have a new student." In walked a girl, about the age of sixteen. John's eyes went wide at the site of her. It was the girl that was on the news yesterday. Her short brown hair rested lightly on her shoulder, and her bright brown eyes scanned the room. He wanted to run his hand over her tanned skin and dirty thoughts rushed into his head when he saw her standing there. 

Her name is Leslie Rodman from California. John, raise your hand." He lazily put his arm in the air. "You can take the empty seat next to him." She gracefully strolled to the table where he sat. His breath caught as he looked into her warm eyes. 'God she's hot.' he thought to himself. She lowered herself into the seat. 

John broke the silence and held out his hand. "I'm John Allerdyce, or Pyro if you feel like it."Her mouth broke into a white, shining smile and shook his hand, sending a tingling sensation up his arm. "I'm Leslie Rodman, or Aura if you feel like it."

John smiled, this crappy day seemed to be getting already. He glanced over at her again, her eyes were now facing the front of the classroom, listening to the teacher. Her tight long sleeved shirt hugged her perfect curves in all the right places. The jeans were slightly worn and faded, and her checkered black and white shoes were spotted with mud. Feeling his eyes on her, she looked over at him in confusing. Hastily John looked away and could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. Bobby and Rogue had been watching, and both started laughing. John shot them a look, as if telling them to shut up. Leslie sat, slightly amused by the whole situation. Call her conceited (even though she really wasn't), but she knew she was gorgeous, and also thought that John was kind of cute. A stand of hair fell into John's face, and he quickly brushed it back. So maybe this day wasn't as great as he thought it was going to be. Being embarrassed in front of this girl wasn't exactly what he had planned.

The clock on the wall clicked, and finally, after what seemed like hours of lecturing, they were let out for lunch. Bobby was right on John's heels following him. "Seems like somebody's in love with the new girl." He said tauntingly. 

John spun around, glaring daggers at him. "Shut up Bobby." With that he turned back around and headed away.

"Christ he has an attitude!" Bobby said. Rogue came up behind him and put a gloved hand on his shoulder. 

"He's been through a lot." She said.

"Of course he has! Every mutant has gone through a lot of shit before they came here. He acts like he's the only one with problems!"

Around the corner John stood silently listening to Bobby. He had always trusted Bobby, and yea, his temper ran away with him sometimes, but he thought that Bobby was his friend. John's eyebrows furrowed as he replayed the scene in his head. 


	2. Kitchen Encounter

A/N: I didn't know the little boy's name in this scene, (it was in the movie) so I made up one. 

After hours of endless tossing and turning, she couldn't take it anymore. Leslie pulled her hair up into a ponytail and crossed the floor out of the room and made her way down the stairs, stopping at an open door on her way to the kitchen. The TV was flicking between the channels. Entering the room she noticed a young boy with glasses sitting on the couch. Every time that he blinked the channel changed. 

"That's cool." She said. The boy removed his eyes from the screen and looked at her. 

"Thank you." He replied before looking back to the television. 

"Why are you up so late?" She asked.

"I don't sleep. What about you?"

Leslie looked to the TV, a documentary about a rat's life was now on. "I couldn't sleep."

He nodded. "That happens a lot around here."

He had always been a light sleeper. The slightest noise could manage to wake him. Grabbing his lighter, he threw off the covers and stood up. Pulling a gray shirt over his muscular body, he headed to wear the noise was coming from. Hearing voices from a room, he decided to check it out. John stood in the doorway, watching them talk, fingering his Zippo. There she was again. Why couldn't he stop thinking about her? She was just another girl, there were a lot of them at this school, and she wasn't special, there were plenty of other mutants here too. He leaned his shoulder against the entryway and continued to listen. 

"What's your name?" 

"Mikey. What's yours.?"

"Leslie. So, what do you do at night. It must be pretty boring with everyone asleep." Mikey nodded. "It is boring, but you get used to it."

She smiled, this kid was pretty neat. After ruffling his hair, she got up and headed towards the kitchen, where she had intended to go before running into Mikey. 

John didn't want her to see his eavesdropping, so he flattened himself against the wall as she exited the room, hoping she wouldn't notice his presence. His eyes followed her as she walked down the hallway. Running his fingers through his dark hair, he sighed. This wasn't suppose to happen. He was suppose to be Pyro, the tough guy with an attitude. Tough guys don't sigh, tough guys don't act like love sick idiots. What was going on? He had only known this girl for a couple of hours. In his mind, his feelings weren't good.

She reached up to the cabinet and swung it open, setting a bowl on the table. She opened another cabinet door and grabbed some cereal. A clank was made behind, the sound of metal tapping metal. Jumping slightly, she flipped around only to see John leaning on the door frame, flicking his lighter on and off and watching her. She let out a breath or relief, not used to being in a place with other mutants. Looking back up at him, she noticed how amazing attractive he was. The way he seemed so confident (even though those who know him well say he is one of the most insecure guys at the school.), always fiddling with that damn lighter, and always seeming so collected and unfazed. His dark brown eyes continued to stare at her, holding her gaze. 

"That's my cereal you're about to eat." He told her.

Cocking an eyebrow she grabbed the box and held it up. "Your cereal? What makes it _your _cereal."

John smirked, this girl was feisty. Most of the others at this place just cowered down to him, letting him win. He stood upright from the frame and walked towards her. "It just is." He said, snatching his precious Captain Crunch from her grip.

Leslie glared at him. Screw this guy, just because he's decent looking doesn't mean that he had any control over her. She'd been around plenty of good looking guys, they practically fawned over her at her past seven schools that she had been to in the past four years. Sure, they wanted her, but she didn't want them. None of them could ever begin to understand her. "Whatever." She said, flipping her hand and starting to walk away.

He stopped her, grabbing her arm. "Isn't it past your bed time?" He asked sarcastically.

"Isn't it past _your _bed time?" It was known worldwide. Saying the same thing back was the ultimate comeback. I have been informed many times, and this has been used against me many times.

John chuckled and got two spoons, a bowl, and the milk out. "Geez, don't get all frustrated. I was just joking, come on and eat."

She eyed him, wondering whether or not to go over there. Hey, it was just some cereal, and she was hungry. Nothing bad could happen. She shrugged and sat down at the counter next to him. Dipping the spoon into the Captain Crunch and mile, she took a huge bite, chewing on it contently. They sat in silence just eating, every now and then one of them would make a random comment about something that popped into their mind, but nothing else. When she finished eating she sat back in the chair, patting her now full stomach. "That was good." 

John smiled and grabbed all of the silverware and bowls off of the table and took them to the sink. He let the warm water drip down his hands as he soaped everything and left them in the sink. "Thanks." Leslie said to him. John just bobbed his head for a reply and turned back around to her, leaning against the sink. He always seemed to be leaning against something. 

"So, besides the obvious which was on the news, what happened?" He was curious, so why not ask?

She rolled her eyes. She just knew someone was going to ask her about that. "Well, as you know there was a party the other night. And a party isn't a party without excessive amounts of alcohol. I wasn't completely drunk, but I had had enough to the point where I wasn't exactly sure of everything going on." She looked at him. Noting his interest in the matter she continued. "Me and this guy were getting pretty hot and heavy and things got out of control. I didn't want to go any further, but he did. So, I did what I had to do. But, being under the influence of alcohol, I sort of over did it a little. I didn't mean to set the whole entire house on fire."

"That's understandable." John replied.

"Yup. I didn't know what to do next, so I ran away. And now I'm here. With you." 

John smiled and shook the brown hair out of his eyes. "Funny the way things work out."

Leslie shrugged. His opinion didn't really matter to her. She was independent, she could take care of herself. Who cares what this random guy who just happens to sit next to her in one of her classes thought. Of course, she wasn't aware that he had just as much of an attitude and asshole-ish personality that she did. She was unaware of how much their personalities were alike. "So what's your story?" She asked with little emotion in her voice.

He wasn't ready to tell her that. Actually, he wasn't ready to tell anyone about that. The only person that knew was Charles Xavier, but that's only because he could read minds. "I really don't think that's any of your business."

She held up both of her hands. "Whoa sorry. I thought we were swapping stories here. Didn't realize you were so sensitive about yours."

He shot her an icy glare. Lighting his Zippo, he took the flames into his hand. Leslie watched him with interest. What was he going to do, light her on fire? She let out a laugh, only causing his anger to rise more. He threw the fire ball at her. Quickly, she ducked just in time. The fire soared over her head, she looked behind her and it was coming at her again. An energy ball started to glow in her hand and she tossed it at his fire. As the two connected, an small explosion occurred. She turned back around to face John, wagging her finger at him. "Now aren't you a touchy one?" 

His frown deepened at her words. Fearing that he might go ballistic and throw more fire at her, she stared into his eyes, draining his energy. John wavered back and forth a couple times before she stopped. Instead of creating a ball with it in her hand, she stored it inside of her for later use. Carefully she made her away around the counter and to John who was now sitting on the floor. "Sorry 'bout that. I thought you were gonna try and kill me or something." She said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

He rolled his eyes. He was only a few inches away from her now, and the only thing he could think of was grabbing her and doing naughty things right there in the kitchen. Shaking his head, he didn't know what to do. So, he decided to leave. Standing up he made a quick exit back to his room.


	3. The Invasion

Saturday, otherwise known as the weekend. Yes, even at 'Mutant High' as Bobby once fondly put, they get weekends to relax and take a break from school. Sleeping in was always one of the favorite things to do. John awoke to the bright sunlight pouring in through the window. Blinking a couple times he waited for his eyes to adjust. Sitting up he glanced around the room. Everything seemed normal. Bobby already up wandering around campus with Rogue, Zippo on the nightstand. Letting out a deep breath, he decided not to put on a shirt, he never slept with one on. He clambered out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. The events from the night before came flooding back to him. Sure, nothing major had happened, but just talking to her was intoxicating. He looked at his reflection in the mirror as he continued to brush. Good skin, not too many blemishes, he looked at his stomach now. His six pack rippled and his pecks stood out. Yup, he had a nice body, why not show it off? Hoping to impress Leslie, he walked out of the his room and roamed the school. Shielding his eyes from the bright sunlight of the outdoors, he heard voices coming from the basketball court. "Shoot! Shoot!" "WHOO! Point for us!!" "God damnit!" "Get the ball, get the ball!!" 

He walked over to the court and was surprised to see her in the middle of the action, dribbling the ball down the court like a pro. Pass to Kitty, shoot, miss, rebound…it was quite an interesting game. Boys against girls. Watching everyone got him pumped up and ready to play. "Mind if I join in?" 

Everyone turned around to see him standing there, no shirt, just some basketball shorts on that he slept in. One of the girls came up to him, draping an arm around his shoulder, batting her eyes at him and rubbing his chest. "Sure you can." she said seductively. He grinned as he glanced over to Leslie, who's eyes were narrowed at the girl. Knowing that she was jealous of this other girl just brightened his day. Deciding to push the limit, he wrapped an arm around the girls waist and nuzzled her neck. Leslie rolled her eyes and looked the other way. This was sickening. Feeling anger boil inside of her at this girl who was all over John, her John, she pulled out the stored energy from the night before. Putting a small orb into her hand, she tossed it carelessly at the girls back. She let out a yelp as it connected with her spine. The girl spun around to face her, and gave Leslie the dirtiest look she had ever gotten. She gave her an innocent smiled. She had won. 'Leslie fighting over me?' John thought to himself. 'Excellent.' He let out a grin at the idea of it and picked up the ball, ready to play.

After the game was over (boys had won) John caught up with Leslie. 

"So, what was all that about? Didn't like her hanging on me?" He asked.

"Please. That was the most annoying experience of my life." She retorted. "All I wanted to do was play, and everyone was too busy watching you guys to do that. It had to be ended." With that, a smile played on her lips. Her eyes danced as she looked up at him. He returned the smile and brushed a few stray hairs away from her face. She jumped slightly when his fingers brushed her face. 

"I…I should be going." She said quickly, wanting to get away from him as fast as possible. 

"Wait." He said. Her dark eyes matched his and she waited for him to start talking. But, he couldn't. When he opened his mouth, no words came out. All he seemed to be able to do was stutter. Feeling like a complete idiot, he just shook his head and walked away.

He lay in his bed, looking at the stars outside. Normally, he was out like a light, but tonight was different. Tonight, something was going to happen. John wasn't sure whether it was good or bad, but something was definitely going to happen. Professor X was out of the manor, and Logan was in charge. Were they really safe with only him there? Storm and Jean were alos gone, and Cyclops was with the Professor. All the adults were out except for Logan. Would they be okay if danger was to strike? Flipping over on his side he closed his eyes tried once again to fall asleep.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH…." Siren's piercing scream sounded through the hallways. John sat up straight, clutching his ears in hopes to block out the sound. Glancing around the room, he noticed Bobby, his roommate, was gone. His head flipped around to the window. Two bright helicopter lights were shining at him. He put up in arm to block the blinding light from his eyes. Rapidly he threw off his dark comforter and grabbed his Zippo, dashing out into the dimly lit hallway. Kids were running in the halls in every direction. He followed them, not sure where he was going because of the dark. His feet pounded along the ground as he sprinted as fast as he could. They were being invaded by humans. Someone next him went down, he turned his head to see a boy laying on the floor, passed out with darts in his neck. 

"Ugh." He said as he ran into someone, but he kept going.

"John! Hey! Where's Rogue?!" Bobby yelled at him.

"I dunno." He replied, turning around to face him, children bumping into him as they tried to run away from the normal humans. Bobby quickly turned around and ran the other direction, needing to find Marie.

"Hey!" He yelled back at Bobby and ran after him. Following Bobby they ran past doors. One of them was wide open. Leslie's room. Bobby looked behind to see John go into the room. Bright flashing lights seemed to shoot out from them. Must be her infamous energy balls. 

John entered the room. Leslie was throwing off energy in every direction, trying to escape the grasp of one the men. 

"Get the fuck off her!!" He screamed at the guy. The man turned around and handed Leslie to another. 

"Yea. What are you gonna do about it kid?" He asked, holding up a gun. John lit his lighter, taking the flames into his hand and throwing them at him. The man screamed and kept stepping backwards until he fell out the window. John turned to the other guy who now had Leslie.

"Don't come near me freak or I'll kill your girlfriend." He said. 'Girlfriend.' John thought. 'I like the sound of that.' But, this was no time to be fantasizing. Something needed to be done. He heard footsteps behind him and then saw Bobby standing next to him. Both stood, watching in horror at the man who held his gunpoint at Leslie's head. 

Bobby held out his hand. The shiney blue ice ejected from his hand and froze the gun and the man's arm. John dashed over to Leslie, wrenching her free. Drawing her into a quick hug, he whispered in her ear, "Are you ok?" She nodded before pulling away and looking out the door. "What's going on?"

"Humans are invading us." Bobby said. "I don't know why."

Cocking her head to the side she watched the people run past in the hallway. 

"Can we please go get Rogue now?" Bobby asked.

The three ran out of the room, but the second just before, Pyro shot fire at the soldier still in the room and lit him on fire. 

"Rogue!" Bobby yelled as he saw her ran around the corner in a black sleeping gown. 

"Bobby!" She screamed grabbing his hand. "This way!" They followed her around the corner and down the hallway. They skidded to the stop as they saw to outlines of people hanging in front of the window. The glass was shattered and everyone screamed and covered their heads as two men crawled through. They turned around as fast as they could and scampered away in the other direction. Running down the stairs they saw bodies laying on the floor, both human and mutant.

"Come on!" Bobby said. The continued to the front door, but stopped quickly as the wooden doors burst open. Men ran in. They were surrounded by soldiers who were out to get them. Leslie looked all over at everyone. Beads of nervous sweat were dripping down John's face. Fear was in his eyes which darted around the room looking for hope. Her eyes were pinned on him. His eyes stopped on her, gulping in fright. What was going to happen to them? Where they going to be taken away and be put in jail? Be registered? Be experimented on? He looked back into the bright lights of their flashlights and shielded his eyes.

Everyone looked up as they heard Logan from above. He was jumping off of the top of the stairs and flying at the men at the door. His metal claws slashed two of the guys as he came down on top of them. Sticking out his arms, him pierced the other two. All four of them were dead. Logan retracted his claws. "Let's go." he told them. Logan threw open the doors only to be blinded by the intense glow of the helicopter lights. "This way!" He said as he led them away from the doors in the other direction. The ran as fast as their legs would let them, wandering the halls until they reached a certain point. Everyone stared at the wall, but Leslie just glanced around, confused as to why they had stopped.

"This is it." Bobby said, running into the wall. Ah, it was a secret doorway. The wall board lifted up and then there was a dark, circular tunnel, almost like a gigantic drain, with faint light bulbs on the ceiling. The three teenagers dashed into it, ready to escape. Hearing voices and steps coming their way Logan turned to meet the people. 

"You want me?! Shoot me!" Logan screamed at the people, letting the steal claws come out from his knuckles. 

"Logan!" Rogue yelled at him. John, Leslie, and Bobby stopped running and turned around.

"Don't shoot him!" A voice sounded. John looked over at Leslie, who was looking inquisitively towards Rogue. He swallowed, not wanting anything bad to happen to her. He knew he would protect her no matter what happened, no matter whether she wanted him to or not. They all stood there, listening the what was going on outside in the hallway. A man was talking to Logan. "Not yet…Wolverine? Well, I must admit this is certainly the last place I would expect to find you…."

Everyone kept running, John holding Leslie's hand tugging her along. 

Rogue halted. "Wait wait you guys! We have to do something! They're going to kill him!" She shouted.

John sadly let go of Leslie's hand. "He can take can handle himself. Let's go!" John said.

"Bobby! Please…" Rogue begged. Bobby walked up to Rogue and back to the entryway.

What was going on out there? Both Leslie and John were to afraid to look. Bobby and Rogue sat at the entranceway, lingering for Logan, and watching the whole scene. John kept watching Leslie, her chest rising and falling heavily with every breath from all of the excitement and running, her body slightly shaking in fright. Her short hair framed her face and her lips were slightly parted. Lips that he wanted to have his own on. John seemed to tune out, entranced by the girl standing before him. Her eyes never once left the shadows she could see in the corridor.

The next thing he knew Bobby had put up an ice barrier between Logan and the soldiers. Logan was furious, he obviously wanted to hear what else the man had to say. "Shit." He kept saying over and over as they ran . Bobby crawled up a ladder and pushed up the hatch and crawled through the hole. They were now in the garage.

Sprinting to a blue car Logan yelled, "Get in! Get in!"

"I'll drive!" John started, opening the door. 

Logan put his hand on his shoulder, pushing him away. "Maybe next time." They all jumped in, slamming the doors as quickly as they could.

"This is Cyclops's car." Bobby said. Logan just ignored in, letting one of his metal claws come out and inserted it where the key goes. The garage doors open and they sped away.

They drove down the shadowy road, going extremely fast. "Hey what was that back there?" John asked from his window seat in the back. Leslie was squished between him and Bobby.

"Stryker." Logan replied. "His name is Stryker."

"Who is he?" Rogue asked.

"I can't remember." Logan whispered. They all sat quietly as they drove. John leaned

back, shoulder touching Leslie's, which they both quite enjoyed. Rogue took a metal chain off of her wrist.

"Here this is yours." She said.

Logan took it in his hands, remembering the dog tag that he had gotten a long time ago, before he could even remember. He closed his hands around it, glancing at Rogue. Bobby watched from the backseat, not wanting to see the loving looks Rogue gave Logan. John shifted in his sit, then leaned between the two front seat, letting his hand graze Leslie's thigh. "I don't like uncomfortable silences." He informed everyone, pressing the radio button.

"What are you doing?" Rogue asked.

_"Bye bye bye. Bye bye. Don't wanna be a-" _The *Nsync song came blasting out of the speakers, causing everyone to groan. John quickly pressed another button, hoping to change the station to the CD player. A metal cell phone looking object came out of the dashboard.

"I don't think that's the CD player." John said. Logan picked it up, looking at the little object in his hands, pressing it slightly and causing it to beep. "Whoa." Logan said. He glanced over at John who was hovering over him, breathing down his neck. "Sit back." He ordered.

John went back to his seat. "Where are we goin'"? John asked.

"Storm and Jean are in Boston. We'll head that way." Logan told the others in the car.

"My parents are in Boston." Bobby informed everyone. John felt a tug on his heart. Parents. Something that he had never really had. He leaned his head against the back of the seat, sighing. 

"Good." Logan said, making the car go faster. 

John stayed awake the whole car drive, too pumped up from the day's events, or too charged from Leslie's head resting unknowingly on his shoulder. She had fallen asleep. This was the biggest test of self control. Every time she moved, he could feel it and his arms almost hurt in his effort to stop himself from pulling her onto him and forgetting everything. Then, she had made it tens time worse by falling asleep on him, snuggling up against him and making him go insane. John mentally kicked himself for being so effected by her. This was bad news. In his mind, emotions only caused trouble. He was getting too attached to her, and to him, you'll only end up getting hurt.

A/N: This might have been a confusing chapter for those who having seen the X-2 movie, but I'm suspecting that all of you have, so you know what I'm talking about.


	4. Bobby's Family

Hours later, they arrived. The sun had come up, it was about twelve o'clock in the afternoon. They had pulled up in front of Bobby's house. Bobby sighed. He was home. Leslie was still fast asleep on Pyro's shoulder. Man that girl could sleep. Gently, John tapped her. Nothing happened. This time, he not so gently shook her. 

"Don't come near me-" she stopped when she realized that it was only a dream, and it was only John that had nudged her. Mumbling sorry, she got out of the car. The house reminded her of her old life, the life that she had when she was with her family. She scanned over the view. It was a cute home. Bobby swung the door open and they all walked inside the small hallway. He turned around to Rogue. "I'll try and find you some clothes.

John looked around his surroundings. Cozy, comfortable, and utterly picture perfect. It was almost sickening. Open, close, open, close. His lighter was still safe in his hands. Bobby faced John. "Don't burn anything." Then took Rogue upstairs. John watched them, envious that Bobby had and he, well, didn't. Leslie stood behind everyone, being extremely quiet and still. Logan mumbled something to himself as he walked away, leaving John and Leslie alone. Both quiet, both feeling left out and all alone. John turned around, his eyes trailing over Leslie's body. She only wore a sleeping tank top and sleeping shorts, and the same old checkered black and white shoes. Her arms hugged her body and she was shivering slightly from the cold. He walked over to her, and rubbed his hand on her arms in hopes to warm her up. Almost reflexively she flinched and pulled away. Raising an eyebrow he took of his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Damn Bobby for offering Rogue clothes but not her. She gave him a weak smile and moved the main room, not in the tiny hallway anymore. 

John followed her and stood right behind her, breathing deeply. She smelled good. He brushed passed her and over to the pictures hanging on the wall. All four of the family were smiling happily. No knowing then, and still not knowing, that Bobby was a mutant. No wonder they were so content. This was something that he had never experienced. Being pushed away as soon as your family realized you weren't like them. What if that happened to Bobby and his family? What if they didn't want him anymore? He had seen it happen so many times. It had happened to half the people at the school. 

Feeling someone's breath lightly on the back of his nape, he spun around. Leslie stood in back of him, looking at the picture too. Tears flooding her eyes, probably remembering some horrific memory from the past. Blinking a couple times, she tried to regain her composure. No crying. Crying is only for wimps. Casting her eyes downward she stared at her shoe and sniffled a couple times. He couldn't stand it anymore. Not touching her was tearing him to pieces. He ran a finger over her cheek, brushing away a fallen drop. This time, she didn't jump away from him. Feeling that it was okay, he pulled her into a hug. His arms encircled her in a comforting embrace as she put her forehead against his chin. 

They just stood like that for a while, both looking at the picture in envy. "John?" Leslie whispered.

"Hm?" He replied. She pulled away and looked up into his dark eyes.

"This is kind of making me uncomfortable." With that, she turned around and headed towards the kitchen, where Logan was.

"Shit." John murmured under his breath.

"John." A voice said from behind him. It was Rogue. She had changed into some slightly normal clothes now and had gloves on to keep her from touching and hurting anyone. "I wouldn't if I were you." 

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"I just heard some stuff about her." she told him. "About how she plays with guys. Never really likes them, just leads them on. Plus, she was a total preppy, party girl."

John shrugged. "Who cares? And, how did you hear about all that anyways?"

"Word gets around fast. Unlike other schools, most of the time it's true."

John snorted. That was true. Word did get around fast, and most of the time the things said were actually real. But, who really cared about what she used to be? She wasn't there anymore. She was with them, mainly at the school, but with them here now too. "Maybe you should stay out of it." He snapped.

Rogue put up her hands, defeated. "Fine, but I was just warning you. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"You don't know what you are talking about!" He yelled after her as she went up the stairs. Back to her lover, Bobby. Shaking his head and running his fingers through his hair he watched Leslie laughing through the doorway. She was sitting on the counter talking to Logan with a drink in her hands. Feeling his eyes on her she turned her head and smiled at him. He smiled back. Rogue was wrong, Leslie wasn't bad.

He heard the click of the door and flipped around to see three people walk through the front door. Ducking behind the couch the three walked passed him into the kitchen and stopped dead in their tracks, looking confusedly at Logan and Leslie. Bobby and Rogue clambered down the stairs, receiving only odd looks from his family, the mom, the dad, and brother Ronnie. They all made their way into the living room, where John was. He rose from his hidden position and gave an awkward smile. 

Open. Close. Open. Close. Once again this repetitive motion that happened when he felt nervous or uncomfortable.

"So, uh, when did you first know you were, a, a-"

"A mutant?" John helped out, raising his eyebrows and flicking his Zippo.

Bobby's mother raised her eyes up to him, looking annoyed. "Would you cut that out?" She asked, referring to his obsession with his lighter. He tilted his head to the side and closed his lighter for the last time. This women was getting on his nerves.

"You have to understand, we thought Bobby was going to a school for the gifted." The father answered.

Rogues eyebrows furrowed. "Bobby is gifted."

"We know that." The father replied. "We just didn't realize-"

"We still love you, Bobby." The mother cut him off. "It's just…this mutant problem is a little-"

"What mutant problem?" Logan asked. Hm, seemed like people liked to cut people off today.

"Complicated." She continued with what she was going to say before, trying to ignore Logan's comment.

"What exactly are you a professor of, Mr. Logan?" The father asked. Logan took some time to think about this. After all, he had told them earlier that he was a professor at Bobby's school, to cover up for the real reason why everyone was at the Drakes house.

"Art." He said simply. John lifted hi head, glancing over at everyone. Leslie was extremely quiet, she had been the whole day. She sat unmoved in the corner, completely zoned out from the rest of life. She was in her own little world now, day dreaming about only God knows what. Her eyes remained unfocused and unblinking. 

Rogue spoke up. "You should see what Bobby can do." Bobby's brother, Ronnie, sat on the edge of the couch, breathing heavily, trying not to freak out about the fact his very own brother was a mutant. 

The mother put her cup of tea down in the saucer, still holding it in her hand. Bobby reached over, placing his pointer finger of the porcelain. The tea got colder, and slowly froze. She turned it upside down, letting the frozen liquid fall sharply onto the saucer. She set the items roughly down onto the coffee table, surprised at what her son had done. Everyone stared at it. John gave a small, silent laugh from his position against the wall. Idiots. Now they knew their son's powers. A meowing cat leaped up onto the table and began licking the Popsicle like tea. "I can do a lot more that that." Bobby said.

Ronnie couldn't stand it anymore it. He jumped up from the couch and dashed up the stairs. "Ronnie!" The mother called after him. "This is all my fault." She said, shaking her head. 

"Actually, they discovered that males are the ones that carry the mutant gene and pass it on." John implied, pointing at the father. "So, it's his fault." The father glared at him. Leslie finally stirred. She glanced up at John and gave him a grin. He smiled back. Humans could be so dumb sometimes.

Everyone sat in silence as the minutes ticked away. They were sorted through their feelings, trying to fully comprehend what had taken place. The shrill beeping sound of that metal objects sounded through the room, disturbing everyone's thoughts. "Oh, uh. It's for me!" Logan said. Walking out onto the back porch. 

The mother shifted in her seat. "Bobby. Have you tried…not being a mutant?" John raised his eyebrows. What was up with this woman? She should feel blessed to have had such a talented person in her family. 

Logan answered the call. Ah, so this was a com device. Interesting. Now he was finally able to reach Storm and Jean. "No one's left Jean. Soldiers came." Logan informed them.

"What about the children?" He heard Storm say.

"Some of them escaped. I'm not sure about the rest."

"We haven't been able to reach the professor or Scott either." Jean said.

"Where are you Logan?" Storm asked.

"Boston. With Bobby Drake's family." He replied.

"Ok, we're on our way."

"And Storm." Logan said. "Make it fast." He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand being in there with those judgmental people. Turning on his head, he walked towards the sliding glass door, preparing to go inside. In the glass, he saw something. A cop car! They had been found. He rushed inside and slid the door shut and locked it.

"We have to go now."

"But Logan, why-" Rogue started.

"NOW!"

Rogue tried to remain calm, asking questions trying to get Logan to answer her. He wouldn't. He let his metal claws come out of his knuckles. Show time. John up righted himself from his leaned position and Leslie stood up. The mutants followed Logan onto the front porch. They were surrounded. Cops and their cars were on the lawn and in the street.

"Drop the knives and put your hands in the air." A policeman said to Logan, gun raised and pointed.

Logan turned his head so he was looking at the man. "What's goin' on here?" They all looked around frantically, sizing up their surroundings. Leslie shrunk back. She felt so small. Was this another side of the tough Leslie?

"Ronnie…" Bobby breathed. Ronnie. He must have called the cops of them after finding out about the mutant issue. His own brother was putting him into danger. What was this world coming to?

"Drop the knives!" The policeman repeated.

"This is just a misunderstanding." Logan said calmly.

"Put the knives down!!!" The man yelled.

Logan turned his head. "I can't" He raised his arm and pointed. "Now look-"

A bullet came flying out of the policeman's gun, striking Logan dead center in his forehead. Oh god. Rogue shrieked and Leslie hugged herself, her eyes darting around, taking in everything. Logan fell to the ground with a thud as he hit the wooden porch floor on his back. 

"Alright. The rest of you. On the ground, NOW!" They were ordered. Everyone shrank to the floor. What were they suppose to do. They couldn't do anything, there were too many cops. John watched Leslie getting smaller and smaller. Eyes closed, breathing heavily, feeling totally and completely miniscule. This was it. It was over. They were all done for. He watched her helplessness. No. This wasn't suppose to happen. He swallowed, glaring daggers at the policeman. "Look kid, I said, on the ground!" 

"We don't wanna hurt you kid." A woman cop said, also holding a gun. 

His eyes were on her, Leslie. Eyes downcast, laying flat, overcome with fear. Seeing her like that made a knot form in the pit of his stomach. No one should ever make her feel like that. No one was allowed to. 

His atoms apple bobbed as he swallowed one more time and began to speak. "You know all those dangerous mutants you hear about on the news?" He asked while lighting his shark Zippo. He removed his eyes from Leslie and looked at the policeman. "I'm the worst one." He took the flame into his hand. He lifted his arm an pointed it at him. The flame spiraled at him. He fell backwards, the blazes covering his entire body. 

John spun around and flung the fire with all of his might at the woman at the other side of the porch. The flare enveloped her entire body. He shot some more out towards the front of the property, no true aim. Then flipped behind him and blasted through the door at the police that were inside of the house. He turned back forward and shot it at the every cop car. With each hand he flew flames, exploding cars and raising hell.

Memories flashed back in Leslie's mind. The house. The party. The fire. The police. Her fault. Gulping she continued to watch. John was out of control, he had let his anger get the best of him. He hit another vehicle, the fire causing the car to fly up into the air. Sirens could be heard of more people coming. John stopped it with another fireball. He licked his chapped lips and continued. Rogue lay quietly and confused. What could she do? She gasped as he continued to hurt more people. He was smiling now, like he was proud of his work. She couldn't take it anymore. She undid her white, satin glove and slid it off of her hand. Wrapping her fingers around his ankle, the fire burned out from his hand. 

John took in a sharp breath. Was he dying? He stared at his hand wondering why his powers weren't working. All energy seemed to be being drained from him. He dropped to the floor. Rogue stuck out her hand, putting out the flames now that she had acquired some of John's powers for the time being. The bullet fell from Logan's head and his healing powers fixed him. He, as well as all of the crispy police awoke and sat up. A jet was landing before them. Everyone looked up to see it coming down onto the street. Leslie's head was buried in her knees, but she raised it to see what was going on. Now she saw, the same gleaming, gigantic jet that had picked her up in the first place. They all stood. John turned and stared at Rogue. Bitch. She had just made him look like an idiot and made him stop. He turned his head back to Leslie. Her eyes were wide as she watched. She looked so innocent and delectable that John was barely able to contain himself. He looked back at the jet, if he stared at Leslie any longer and might jump on top of her or something. Logan twisted his head and looked at John confusedly. John raised his eyebrows. Whoops, didn't mean to cause so much trouble.

The jet came to a complete stop and the engines shut down. All of the mutants went over to it and climbed on board. Bobby looked back one last time at his house, and his brother Ronnie who was watching in horror from the bedroom window.


End file.
